


Dear Marimo

by hijaubiru (itmetrashcan)



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood Friends, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Possessive Zoro, Translation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-25 22:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15650187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itmetrashcan/pseuds/hijaubiru
Summary: What would happen if Zoro and Sanji were engaged?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a translation of the fanfic [Dear Marimo](https://fanfiction.net/u/3946317) by Prissycatice on ff.net, which was originally written in Indonesian. I hope by translating it, more people can enjoy this story. The original story is already finished, and I will post the other half of the translation tomorrow.

“That’s him!”

“Oh my god, he’s walking past that corridor!”

“Let’s go!”

The beautiful chatter from the female students continue to fill the corridors, right outside of Sanji’s classroom. Bright-eyed and flustered, all of them walk in groups, some even carrying small paper bags – for cookies, most probably. He can hear some of the male students start to grumble, _damn it. Not just the girls in this class, huh._

At the center of all this mess is a man whom Sanji would (reluctantly!) call the prince of the school. With his position as the student council president, it isn’t surprising that a lot of girls would fawn over him. It’s downright _frustrating_ for Sanji _,_ to see those wonderful girls falling head over heels over the same guy.

Even if that guy is someone who’s, admittedly, pretty cool.

He’s tall, with broad chest and broader shoulders, long sturdy legs that make him seem to tower over people. He’s quiet and aloof in a way most people would consider cool (and Sanji would consider _rude_ ), and he’s good at fighting, which somehow becomes another part of his supposed charm. Fuck if Sanji understands, though. Little do these people know, this guy is _dumb_ as hell. His rank is in the lowest ten in the class, and somehow, he still gets to be the student council president. That’s got to be illegal somehow, right?

His name’s Zoro. An ugly name, obviously, clearly befitting of such an annoying asshole.

Sanji’s starting to get pissed off from just thinking about Zoro, so he saunters over to Nami’s classroom. Why should he bother thinking about that brainless marimo anyway when this ever-beautiful girl from the first year exists?

“Nami –” he tries to call out for her, but pauses when he catches the sight of other girls surrounding her.

“So, you guys are into my brother, huh?” Nami asks, voice cold, and Sanji inwardly curses at the reminder that the charming, wonderful girl in front of him is Zoro’s sister. Truly one of the world’s greatest wonders.

Nami narrows her eyes, fishes something out of her pocket before flashes a wide, predatory grin. “This is a photo of my brother eating at home! One set consists of five photos, only five thousand berries each!”

Sanji almost trips over nothing at that. He thought she would’ve hated those girls for liking her big brother, but count on Nami to turn this into a profitable business. Well, it’s not that it’s surprising. The only thing on her mind is money, money and money. But he appreciates how smart she is, considering how all of her money-making schemes are always so creative and meticulously planned. Ah, Sanji just loves her so much.

Meanwhile, the other girls seem to go wild over the photos, hysterically demanding, “I’m buying! I’m buying!” over each other. As if there was something desirable about such photos.

“Everybody who wants one, stay in line!” Nami shouts over them, and smiles in satisfaction as the girls follow her command. Sanji thinks he can see her eyes practically turn into the berry sign as she adds, “oh, by the way, I have a couple of pencils recently used by my big bro. I’m selling at a starting price of three thousand berries! Anyone interested?”

“I’m buying!” The girls continue to scream in unison.

Sanji thinks he’d rather stay in his class after all.

* * *

 

Zoro _is_ aloof and quiet, but what most people don’t know is that he can also be none of that. Zoro can be a different person…in private, that is.

“Cook…” Sanji hears Zoro whisper into his ears, slowly waking him. Shit. Why is this asshole even here!?

Sanji snaps his eyes open and scrambles for his phone. “It’s still _six_ in the morning, Marimo!” He yells when he sees the time on the screen. Come on, it’s _Sunday_. Who wakes up at six on a Sunday?

“Happy Sunday,” Zoro says, clearly ignoring Sanji’s frustrated rant, and between one breath and the next Sanji suddenly feels a bite on his earlobe.

“Aargh!” Sanji instantly rolls away on his bed. “Why are you even here so early?! Don’t you have anything better to do, brainless seaweed?”

When Sanji looks up to see him properly, Zoro is smirking. That _asshole_.

“I want to have my breakfast here,” Zoro says calmly, as if getting breakfast at Sanji’s place is his God-given right and _Sanji’s_ the one who should be grateful for it.

Sanji stares at him for a few moments, contemplating the idea of throwing himself out of the window before deciding against it, only because he doesn’t want Zoro’s stupid face to be the last thing he sees before he dies. He sighs and rolls his eyes at the mosshead. “What do you want to eat? Isn’t my dad downstairs – why didn’t you just ask him for breakfast?” He climbs out of the bad and begins to change out of his pajamas. “Your mother is a fantastic cook, you know; why aren’t you getting food at home anyway? Coming here so early just for a shitty breakfast.”

Zoro simply stays quiet as he follows Sanji on his way to the kitchen. Sanji is still _exhausted_ , damn it. He wonders if this is just the kind of sad, pathetic life he has to lead when he has such an annoying fiancé.

Wait, he hasn’t exactly mentioned _that_ part of the story, has he. In Sanji’s defense, he’d really, really like to pretend that it’s not true, but it is – the green-haired brute currently following him around his house is his fiancé.

Not that Sanji had anything to say about that.

* * *

 

It all started seven years ago, when Sanji and Zoro were ten.

One day Zoro just came over his house, bringing his parents and Nami over. Him and Zoro were already friends – if one has a loose definition of ‘friends’ and include ‘someone you regularly punch and kick at the playground’. He never got into a _real_ fight with Zoro, of course – they’d never actually hurt each other, not that Sanji would ever admit that – but for a second he’d thought that Zoro’s parents were there to scold him. For hurting their precious son or whatever.

“Um, so, Mr. Blackleg,” Zoro’s mother began to explain, “I’m here because Zoro asked me to…”

“Zoro’s here to propose to Sanji!” Nami cut in immediately, and Sanji blinked. Once, twice. What did he just say…?

“Nami, let your mother talk first,” Zoro’s dad pulled Nami into a hug.

Sanji mustered enough courage to ask, “Mi—miss Robin, aren’t you here to scold me?”

“Dumbass,” Zoro muttered under his breath. Sanji glared at him.

Robin – Zoro’s mother – chuckled at that. “Oh, no, no, what Nami just said is actually true. Our family is here because Zoro forced us to accompany him to ask you in a marriage.”

Sanji turned towards his dad, who looked as shocked as he was. At least he wasn’t the only person who thought that this was ridiculous. Franky – Zoro’s dad – laughed and messed with Zoro’s hair. “This brat is very stubborn. I told him he was still too young, but he insisted.”

“Uh… are you sure about this, Zoro?”

“Don’t _ask_ him, dad!” Sanji protested, before yelling at Zoro, “Oi, did you hit your head or something!? This must be because I kicked you yesterday. You got stupider.”

Zoro, surprisingly, just stared at Sanji, his expression blank. “Noisy,” he said, “you should just shut up.” Sanji opened his mouth to retort, but Zoro already turned toward his dad. “Zeff, I promise I will make Sanji happy. Please give him to me.”

Sanji felt his face flush at the words. He couldn’t believe this was happening – Zoro was really proposing to him. For _real_. Where did he even learn about marriage? That idiot only seemed to care about swords and fighting.

“Don’t be stupid,” Franky hit Zoro in the head, and Zoro grimaced. “You don’t even have a job yet. How are you going to make him happy?”

“Sanji! If I become your sister-in-law, will you make me birthday cakes every year for free?” Nami piped in from Franky’s lap.

Zeff threw his head back and laughed, and Sanji wanted to scream. Why was Zeff laughing? This was no laughing matter!

“It seems your son is serious about this,” Zeff said, regarding Zoro. “You really love him? Will you take care of him for the rest of his life?”

“I will! I promise!” Zoro said firmly.

“Then I will give you the permission to marry Sanji. But you two are still so young, so you can’t get married yet,” Zoro blanched at that, but Zeff just laughed at him. “You can become his fiancé first.”

Sanji gaped at that. Wait a minute. Was this really happening?! Did nobody bother to ask for _his_ permission? “Wait –“

“Okay. I’m fine with that,” Zoro answered, clearly ignoring Sanji’s protest.

“Hey, I didn’t agree to this!”

“Well, it’s been decided. Let’s go home, mom, dad, Nami,” Zoro stood up, bowed at Zeff and nonchalantly walked towards the door.

“Yay! Sanji’s gonna be my big brother!” Nami followed him, spring in her steps.

“All right, eggplant, time to make breakfast,” Zeff said, as if they had just been discussing the weather.

Sanji stared at the door. He was so sure it had been a dream, but his heart was pounding in his ears. He thought of Zoro, _proposing_ , and felt his face heat up even further.

* * *

 

So, really. Sanji technically never agreed to _this_. It’s stupid, anyway. Who the hell let twelve-year-olds propose? The end of the world is truly near.

After he's done with the breakfast for Marimo, he drops the plate unceremoniously on the table and trudges back towards his room. He's going back to sleep, damn it. Even if a certain annoying brute is following him back to his room... wait. He whips his head back, only to find Zoro once again following him. "What do you want, Marimo!? Just eat your breakfast in the dining room."

"It tastes better if I eat while looking at your face."

He feels his face heat up at the words. How can he say such a thing so bluntly!? "Whatever you want!" he decides to yell, and climbs back into his bed with his back facing the door, trying his best to ignore a certain green-haired man taking a seat by his bed.

* * *

 

Silence.

Silence, except for the sounds of chewing coming from Zoro's mouth...

For  _fuck_ 's sake, he can't sleep with that noise filling his room. Sanji sits up on his bed and glares at the eating brute, who blinks up from his plate, wearing an expression that suggests that he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever. Yeah, right. As  _if_.

"You're awake?" Zoro asks innocently. This dumbass! Sanji wants to kick him on the head.

"Whose fault is that?" He bites back, and walks toward the bathroom. "Go home after you're done with your food!" He yells before slamming the bathroom door loudly, just to make a point. Stupid brat. What kind of sin has he committed in a past life to make him deserve such a dumbass for a fiancé?

* * *

When Sanji walks out of the bathroom thirty minutes later, his mood is considerably better. There's nothing a long dip in the bath can't fix.

"You shower like a girl. Takes too long. After we get married, you should shower faster. Wash your hair once."

Sanji pauses in his track as he hears the familiar voice. He turns just to see the owner of the voice lying across his bed, flipping through a comic book. So this mosshead hasn't come home!?

"What the – who said I was going to marry you?"

"I did. I literally just said that." Zoro frowned. "Do you need to see a doctor for your ears?"

Sanji feels like strangling him. No, he shouldn't raise to the bait, but Zoro is just so good at pushing his buttons. If only Sanji could get the upper hand, somehow...

He takes a deep breath. Well, he does know one weakness of Zoro; probably his only one. He smiles, slowly climbs on top of his bed, and settles beside Zoro. He leans in as he whispers, "hey, my fi-an-cé."

That got Zoro to sit up straight and whip his head towards Sanji, wide-eyed, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. That makes the two of them, really - Sanji couldn't believe what he'd just said, either. Well, there's no turning back... "Why do you want me so much? Hm?"

He tries to say it playfully, but it comes out much more serious than he wanted. It's a question he's always wanted to ask Zoro, after all.

Zoro's face turns blank. "Call me that again first, and I'll answer your question."

The  _nerve_ of this guy. "Marimo."

"Not that one."

"Shithead."

Zoro scowls, and if Sanji didn't know better, he could almost say the man is...pouting. "You haven't even called me that today!"

"Well, I just did. Just now."

"Okay, fine. The other one, then. The one you just said before you asked me that question."

"Stupid seaweed-haired idiot."

"You haven't even said that either!" He grits back, voice raising. He looks halfway between frustrated and flustered, and Sanji thinks Zoro's kind of cute, like this.

"Maybe I didn't say it, but I definitely thought of it," he teases.

"You -!"

"Why are you so interested in me? You used to make fun of me because of my eyebrows, my blond hair. And then suddenly you proposed, just like that." He looks at Zoro. "Why?"

Zoro sighs. There's something in the air, an unfamiliar tension that makes Sanji uneasy in ways he never felt with Zoro, but the moment's gone as soon as Zoro says, "I did it because I knew no one else would want you as their husband when you grew old. I took pity on you so I -"

Sanji kicks him on the head.

It really is the worst Sunday ever.


	2. Chapter 2

“Zoro’s sick.”

Sanji’s eyes widen in surprise at that. Did he hear wrongly? That brainless Marimo is…sick? Can he even be sick? Sanji has known him for practically his entire life now, and he can’t remember a time when Zoro was sick.

Nami stares at him. “Well, he isn’t actually sick. More like…he got into a minor accident?”

“A minor accident?” Luffy, Nami’s classmate, wonders aloud in between bites of food. “But Zoro is strong,” he adds before swallowing a mouthful of rice.

“He was helping our dad fix the roof yesterday. Dad slipped while carrying a bunch of these steel pillars, and those pillars hit Zoro’s shoulder.” She shrugs. “The doctor said he broke his arm, so he got admitted into the hospital. What a waste of money.”

“That doesn’t sound like a ‘minor’ accident!” Vivi exclaims, worry etched across her expression, and Sanji couldn’t help understanding what she felt.

Huh. Stupid Marimo.

* * *

 

“I brought you chocolate cake,” Sanji shoves the cake box into his _dearest fiancé’s_ face, who’s currently lying on the hospital bed. Sanji feels kind of pissed that he actually got _worried_ , especially when Zoro looks completely fine.

“Tch. Chocolate cake? I don’t like sweet food,” Zoro says, and actually has the gall to stick out his tongue and make fake gagging noises. What an asshole. What an _ungrateful_ brat.

“I made this myself!” He shoves the box back towards the bed. “You should at least try it first.”

“I told you,” Zoro pushes it back. “I don’t want it.”

“If Zoro doesn’t want it, just give it to me!” Luffy chimes in, snatching the box, “I love chocolate cakes!”

Zoro shoots up into a sitting position at that, his good hand reaching towards Luffy. “Hey! It’s mine! Give it back!”

“But you told us you didn’t want it,” Luffy says, opening the box.

“Not your problem! Don’t open it! Give it back!”

“It’ll turn bad if you don’t eat it,” replies Luffy.

“Who cares if it turns bad! The cake is _mine_ ,” Zoro grouches, and that earns him a kick in the head from Sanji. “Ouch! What the hell, pervert cook?”

“Don’t waste food, dumbass. If you don’t want it, Luffy can get it,” Sanji fires back. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Luffy’s grin widen at the words.

“Right,” Nami agrees. “Instead of wasting food, I could just sell it,” she adds, her eyes suspiciously turning into the Berry sign.

Zoro glares at everyone in the room before huffing. “Tch, I’ll eat it later, then!” He gestures at Luffy. “Just return it!”

Luffy pouts, but eventually relents, returning the cake to the sullen Zoro. Sanji just couldn’t understand him – he already said he didn’t want it. Stupid.

“He’s being stupidly possessive again,” Nami comments with a roll of her eyes, and Sanji tries to ignore that.

“When can you get discharged?” He asks instead.

“Until the doctor says I can.”

 _No shit_. “When is that?” Sanji asks, trying to tamp down his emotions. Breathe in, breathe out.

Zoro shrugs. “I dunno.”

“But you seem all right,” Sanji observes.

Zoro glowers at that. “I broke my hand,” he points out, tone reminiscent of a whining child.

Despite getting annoyed, Sanji also couldn’t help the worry that slowly crawls up his spine. It’s unnerving, to see Zoro actually complain about physical pain. Before he can stop himself, he asks, “did it hurt?”

Zoro’s lips curve into a smirk, and Sanji wishes he could swallow back his question. He doesn’t like where this conversation is going… “Why? Are you worried about me?”

“You wish,” Sanji says.

“Pathetic,” Nami observes with a sigh.

“You’re noisy,” Zoro snaps at his sister. “I knew you’ve been profiting of this, selling my stuff and making people buy your get-well-soon cards…”

“I’m hungry…”

Everyone stops arguing and turns to Luffy, who’s already lying down on the hospital floor, dramatically clutching at his stomach. “Sanji… I’m hungry…”

“I guess that’s our cue to go home,” Sanji glances at his watch. “It’s getting late, too.”

“Bye, bro,” Nami says with a wave, dragging a barely-conscious Luffy with her other hand, and Sanji follows them towards the door with a quick, “Bye, Marimo.”

Just as he reaches the door, Zoro suddenly asks from his bed. “When are you coming again?”

Sanji pauses in his track, and turns to give Zoro a _look_. “Later.”

Zoro doesn’t look placated by the answer. “And when is ‘later’?”

“Later. Who knows.”

“Come by again tonight,” Zoro says, and when Sanji meets his eyes, he sees that Zoro’s expression is serious. _Too_ serious.

“I, uh, got a lot of homework I need to do,” Sanji replies lamely.

Zoro’s serious look morphs into a scowl. “I’m telling you to come by tonight,” he declares, his tone demanding, which irks Sanji a lot.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“You have to come,” Zoro insists, stubborn, “I’m telling you to come.”

“Sanji, come on, Luffy has started to eat the sofa!” Nami calls out from the hallway.

Sanji’s first instinct is to follow Nami, but his curiosity got the better of him. “Are you…scared of hospitals?”

“As _if_ ,” Zoro says scathingly, and, well, fair point. Sanji can’t imagine Zoro getting scared of something as mundane as a hospital stay.

Sanji finally settles with, “shen you’re done with the cake, I’ll come. Get well soon, dumbass.”

With that, he walks out the door and closes it, ignoring Zoro’s _you’ll have to come tonight!_ He can’t believe the brute is such a… _brute,_ for a lack of words. Sanji can’t erase the memory of Zoro’s serious expression, and he can’t help smiling at the image. Well, he isn’t really that bad, sometimes. Kind of needy when he’s sick, Sanji mentally notes.

“Sanji, come on! Help me stop Luffy! He’s eating – Luffy! That’s not food!” Nami scrambles towards Luffy, who – Sanji blinks – may or may not have started chewing other patients.

He’s already thinking about the food he’ll cook for Zoro tonight.

“All right, Nami-swan!” He calls out, and runs towards them with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has a sequel, so I may translate that too in the future.
> 
> For now, thank you for reading.


End file.
